Change has always been with us; life is anything but static. What is of importance to all heralds of the gospel is how well we respond, as opposed to react, to the social and political changes that are going on around us everyday. Nowhere is that response more important than in what we do about the Great Commission. I use the word what deliberately because the commission given by Jesus to the Church is primarily concerned with what we do and not how we do it. There is however, as any fisherman will tell you, more to fishing than just fishing. Different fish for example require different bait and different equipment and in some cases different seasons. In the media culture of the twenty-first century they speak of being 'w' cubed by which they mean, whenever, wherever, whatever it takes. How about us, why for example in a 365-24-7 world are so many of our churches 1-1-52 (1 hour, 1 day a week 52 weeks of the year). Why do so many churches adopt a 'Here I stand' (maintenance) approach to their Christian mission instead of a 'There we go' (pioneering) approach. In this edition of TMQ we look at what we hope will be inspiring different ways of how different missionaries are doing the what of Matthew 28:19.

Table of Content

Models of Evangelism

A Body of Change by Tony Foley

It's Not Like It Used to Be by Tim Watson

How to Get Rid of Idols by Chiu Chui-ji

What Does Sport Have to Do with Missions? by Alex Tan

Why Have a Family Emphasis? by Kav Chandler

Music and the Message by Sara Beth Norman and Amanda Taylor

Build It and They Will Come by Michelle Collin

Morrison Homecoming 2002 by Becky Courson

Funding Indigenous Missions by Roger Lang

Music from Heaven by Joyce Yang

The Challenge Of language's Interview with Ruh-Shan Jin by Nancy Toombs

Regular Features

Missionary Profile: Tho Heiskanen's Story by Les and Thelma Barnard

Women in Ministry: The Fruit of Medical Ministry by Ruth Dai Yu-jen

MK Issues: Commitment by Matthew Neigh

Window on the Church: Thai Workers in Taiwan Need the Gospel by Immanuel Scharrer

We missionaries serving in Taiwan are in the communication business. We want to communicate the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of this country. We try to think of creative strategies for making meaningful contact with people and effective methods for getting across the message we want them to consider. Most of us also have another group of people to whom we want to communicate messages clearly and effectively - our supporters back home. They are the people in the churches who pray for us and contribute so that we can serve the Lord here in this foreign culture. This communication task can be a major challenge!

Our task of communicating with our home supporters is another kind of crosscultural communication. When we enter another culture and serve the Lord there for several years, our experience radically changes our outlook on the world. Not having had the same experiences in life, the supporters back home have a hard time really understanding us. Actually, it is not only we that have changed by going to a foreign country, but our supporters back home are also changing in ways that we can barely perceive. When we return home, we may very well have a hard time understanding them as well. There is a great gap in experience and understanding between field and home-a gap that is not easily crossed. To have a real meeting of the minds with our supporters when we go on home assignment, we need to think very carefully about how to cross that communication gap.

When we decided to run a focus on Trauma and Crisis the SARS pandemic was completely unheard of! Taiwan had experienced a devastating earthquake, now known as "9-21". Later, the Taiwanese suffered more hardships due to flooding after the "7-11" typhoon. With all these crises around it's natural that people's thoughts will turn to the end times. Then there are the personal crises, how do we cope with such? You can read how some people cope in the focus articles.

Table of Content

Trauma and Crisis

Crisis: Danger or Opportunity by Wayne Lehsten

Emeline by Ronda Sheppard

Something Happened . . So Now What? by Steve Spinella

Lessons of Grief by Kathy Foreman

"He's Gone...'' (Poem) by Kathy Jo Foreman

Regular Features

Meditations for Missionaries: Dangerous Desires: The Idols Within by Mags Duggon

Our host nation Taiwan has experienced many changes in recent years. We have gone from martial law to democracy to regime change. We have gone from a booming economy to a stagnant one. We have gone from strong family identity to chaos in many families and marriages. All of these changes effect the society in which we minister and therefore our missions task.

Our missionary community is changing. Missionaries arriving today often have a different sense of call than those of past years. This may take the form of a limited time commitment. Few arriving now are thinking in terms of serving for fifty years. Because they may have a limited time period, there is urgency for immediate participation in the missions task. They may not feel they have time for years of language study and relationship building. Others are using their time in Taiwan to prepare for another mission field or a career back in their homeland.

Table of Content

The Changing Shape of Missions

The Changing Shape of Taiwan Missions by Ron West

What's Happening to Missions Mobilization? by David Dougherty

Some Taiwan Missionaries Responses to Dougherty: by Angela Peterson/Michael Osment/Bill Franklin/Ron West

The History of the Taiwan Fellowship Deaconry Mission compiled by Leslie Barnard

Annual TMF Conference 2003 by Bev Skiles

Reaching the unreacted through Overseas Contract Workers by Ron Adhikari